OSHA Inspection: KEYSTONE MASONRY

Issued

Jul 22, 2004

Abate by

Jul 27, 2004

Penalty

Initial $1,500 · Current $750 Reduced

General-duty citation text

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970:  The
employer did not
furnish employment and a place of employment which were free from
recognized hazards that
were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to
employees in that:
Employees were exposed to the hazard of inhalation of respirable silica
dust which can lead to
fibrotic lung disease (silicosis):
Workers involved in sanding stones (masonry) while building a stone fence
were exposed to
respirable silica dust on March 25, 2004, without the protection of an
effective medical
monitoring program to protect workers against the early onset of silicosis.
Among other methods, one feasible and acceptable abatement method to
correct the hazard
would be to require all workers exposed to silica levels greater or equal
to 50of the
Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) to receive the following:
1. A baseline chest X-ray and pulmonary function test.
2. Follow-up chest X-ray and pulmonary function test every 3-5 years.
3. Chest X-ray upon employment termination.
4. Baseline tuberculosis skin testing using the Purified Protein
Derivative (PPD) protocol.
5. Annual retesting using the PPD protocol.
6. Appropriate medical follow-up.
ABATEMENT ASSISTANCE NOTE: The chest X-ray should be a chest roentgenogram
(Posteroanterior 14" x 17" or 14" x 14") classified according to the 1971
ILO International
Classification of Radiographs or Pneumoconiosis and by a Class "B" reader.
The medical follow
-up should include the following procedures:
1.With a positive chest X-ray (1/10 or greater) the worker shall be placed
in a
mandatory respiratory protection, or if already wearing a respirator, the
program
should be reevaluated to assure proper fit and that other elements of 29
CFR
1910.134 are being met. The worker should be referred to a physician
specialist
in lung diseases for a medical evaluation and medical monitoring as
warranted by
the examining physician.
2.All medical test results will be discussed with the worker by the
physician.
DOCUMENTATION AND CERTIFICATION REQUIRED FOR THIS ITEM.

Issued

Jul 22, 2004

Abate by

Jul 27, 2004

Penalty

Initial $1,500

Issued

Jul 22, 2004

Abate by

Jul 27, 2004